Psychodynamic Therapy

Understanding of attachment theory and how ingrained trauma from the past effects us in the present.

In my practice, Psychodynamic Therapy has been a powerful tool for helping clients uncover the hidden patterns that influence their thoughts, behaviors, and relationships. I use this approach to explore how past experiences, including family dynamics and formative events, shape present-day challenges. My goal is to guide clients toward a deeper understanding of themselves, empowering them to create meaningful and lasting changes that align with their personal values.

I believe that a warm and collaborative therapy space is the best foundation for self-reflection and for finding courage to make changes, while feeling supported and seen. In our work together we will approach the therapeutic journey from a holistic perspective, integrating a psychodynamic lens with a solution-focused process to achieve your goals.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy refers to an approach and theory that assumes that early life experience informs and shapes our current relationships and emotional state. It is loosely related to the theory and practice of psychoanalysis (see below). In psychodynamic therapy, the relationship and interaction with the therapist is seen as a primary mode of effecting positive or developmental change. Therapy tends to involve exploration of both current as well as past experiences, often uncovering aspects of a persons thoughts and emotions that were not fully realized or understood. It is through this new understanding and emotional exploration that negative or stuck states of mind and/or relationships are healed, resolved or developed.

My expertise in psychodynamic therapy is grounded in my deep understanding of how unconscious processes and past experiences influence present behavior and emotions. Through extensive training and practice, I help clients uncover and work through these underlying issues, leading to greater self-awareness and long-term healing.

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in the client’s present behavior. These unconscious processes can often drive maladaptive behavior and psychodynamic therapy aims to help the person discover unconscious thoughts and motivators so that they can change their behaviors. In psychodynamic therapy, this is done by increasing a person’s self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.

I believe that our past experiences, particularly early relationships, significantly impact our current emotional well-being and behavior. Through a collaborative exploration of your history and relationships, we can uncover patterns and themes that may be influencing your present.

I work with clients to look at their past and see how it informs their present lives. We work together to look at how past experiences, and traumas consciously and unconsciously show up in our present lives and how we can learn from and work with the material that is showing up for them.

Becoming a parent can often cause us to analyze how we were parented. It can be helpful to explore our own childhood experiences to understand ourselves, why we react to our children in certain ways, and inform us about how we want to parent our own children.

Through this collaborative approach, I encourage the exploration of past and present emotions, beliefs, experiences, and behaviors and work with you to develop a deeper understanding of your early life experiences. Through this process, I believe individuals are able to develop meaningful insight into themselves and their lives.

I enjoy deeper emotional therapy, which is the basis of psychodynamic therapy. Understanding how our past experiencing are currently impacting our thoughts, behaviors, and ways of interacting in the world can be transformative. Clients who are curious about their experiences and self tend to work well with this type of therapy.

My natural bent when working with clients is psychodynamic. In this premise of talk therapy, we dive into your automatic internal resources that are utilized in dealing with problems; adjust and create stronger, more healthy ways to address issues that arise. Many of our reactions are based in past experiences, positive or negative. We explore what does not work and shift you into what will work for your unique abilities.

I use a primarily psychodynamic approach to bring about change. This means that I primarily listen as we freely associate our narratives.

I received my doctoral training at an APA accredited school at Immaculata University in Pennsylvania with a primary focus on psychodynamic therapy interventions.

My psychodynamic training and experience supports my clients to get to the root of the challenges they face in their close relationships and develop the tools and capacities to free themselves from their past patterns. I have completed an advanced 3 year training program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis and I continue to train and consult weekly with two late career psychoanalysts.